Ubisoft says “No more DLC that gamers have to buy for the full experience”

Anne Blondel-Jouin (Ubisoft VP of Live Operations) spoke with GamesIndustry.biz about how Rainbow Six: Siege has informed their DLC strategy moving forward, and that they plan to support their games for five-to-ten years.

Siege sells DLC and a season pass for additional characters that are released several times a year, but players also have the option to unlock them using in-game currency acquired by playing. It takes a very long time to earn enough for those unlocks but it’s possible for the dedicated. The new characters have unique abilities but they aren’t necessary to compete at a high level.

The maps are always free to everyone. For a game dedicated to multiplayer, it’s wise to avoid splitting your player-base with paywalls.

Blondel-Jouin explained:

“Monetisation is something we have to be very careful about, and my team is in charge of that and making sure we find a right balance,”

“The key is if it’s not adding something on-top of the actual experience of the game, then it is no good. Because you’ll be asking for more money for the wrong reasons. Also, if the content is compulsory for the gamers, it’s no good as well. It is a way to deliver more fun to gamers, but they have a choice to go for that extra fun or not”

“It wouldn’t work if it was about making it compulsory for gamers. No more DLC that you have to buy if you want to have the full experience. You have the game, and if you want to expand it – depending on how you want to experience the game – you’re free to buy it, or not.”

“The way we monetize Rainbow Six is that people are happy about the new characters, and they can customize them with weapons and charms, but even if they don’t do it, they will have the exact same experience of the other gamers,” 

Personally, I’m surprised that games haven’t gone up significantly in price. DLC and deluxe editions are a way for Publishers to increase their revenue while keeping the base price locked at $60 USD. If the gaming industry follows Ubisoft’s lead (when do you say that!?) then gamers should be getting their money’s worth for years to come.

How do you feel about the state of DLC?